The Teachings of Buddhism and Christianity to Promote the King’s Philosophy

Abstract

The objectives of this article are to present the teachings of Buddhism and Christianity to promote the King's Philosophy (The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy (PSE)), a development approach based on the principles of moderation, reasonableness, self-immunity, and the application of knowledge alongside morality in life. This study draws on an analysis of Buddhist content from the Tipitaka and Christianity teachings important scriptures, as well as academic documents on the Sufficiency Economy, to compare and explore common ground between teachings of Buddhism and Christianity and the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, The King's philosophy. The study results found that there are seven essential doctrines of Buddhism and Christianity to promote the King’s Philosophy are: there are three important teachings in Buddhism: 1) the Noble Eightfold Path (the path leading to the cessation of suffering), which is the path leading to the cessation of suffering; 2) the heart of a millionaire (Ditthadhammikattha 4), which are practices that lead to economic stability; and 3) the four Iddhipadas, which are virtues leading to success, and there are four core Christianity teachings to promote the King's Philosophy: 1) the teaching not to steal or covet the property of others; 2) the teaching to attend church regularly every Sunday; 3) the teaching that if you are slapped on your right cheek, turn your left cheek also; and 4) the teaching to save 10 percent of your income every month to donate to a common fund for Christian churches to help society. These seven principles of Buddhism and Christianity are important and consistent with the Sufficiency Economy, the King's Philosophy.They can be applied to promote the effective practice of Sufficiency Economy at the individual, family, and community levels, which is consistent with the goals of sustainable development in the dimensions of the psychology, economy, and Thai society.